Vignetting: Is it a dirty word?

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

One does not get into the Museum of Modern Art and other of the world's top museums unless one is a great photographer. Atget was one of the best ever.

As this thread has woken up, I'll respond to that statement by saying that I disagree with it entirely.

Work gets into collections because the collectors like it; inclusion tells us nothing other than that.

There is, in my opinion, no such thing as a "great photographer", only photographers "boosted" by interested parties.

I think that Atget is famous because of the previous two conditions. I don't think his photographs would get a second look otherwise.

 

[tsiklonaut]

As always in photography, it depends and there are always exceptions on any side. But often I love it, I find it helps the eye to focus on the important details of the image, create a perspective for the image. While on the "perfect" frame picture the contrasty corners can often mislead and steal some of the information.


The Analog Depth by tsiklonaut, on Flickr

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

Of course, if you really want a vignette, you want a fisheye...

 

[airfrogusmc]

Is it there for a reason and to help the visual statement? If so, then it needs to be there. A lot of techniques I see today are applied for no other reason than the photographer thinks it looks cool. Many have no idea if it is hurting or helping their photograph. They just do it because they saw others do it...

 

[kuzano]

Judging competitions and vignetting

Judging competitions and vignetting

I was once told by a close friend who is now dead and cannot document this next statement... please don't ask for proof.

He was a career Art History Professor in Higher Ed in the SW, and a right fine large format fine art photographer.... that in judging fine art competition which he did for years, that sometimes increased score points are awarded in cases where the vignette stifles the wandering of the eye out of the corners of an image.

Looking at images with this in mind and playing around with vignetting at different levels, I find this to be a reasonable and acceptable practice.

Another perspective on the Vignette. WHAT IF an image in a competition gets a higher point score do to a well managed vignette over the image next to it, where the eye just races off the corners of the print? Or perhaps even both eyes!😱

Oh, and by the way, this is a serious post, and I do miss Mike.:angel:

 

[Richard G]

Vignette, even (especially) strong, can make an image. With many images an important vignette is almost imperceptible. Here the near road, and the house to the right are dark already, but a subtle vignette in Lightroom lifts those gorgeous sunlit facades even more. I am finding a subtle vignette is valuable in many different images.


East Melbourne by Richard GM2, on Flickr

 

[mike rosenlof]

In the darkroom, I routinely do some edge burning on my prints, or more accurately center-dodging. The key is to keep it subtle. Nudge the attention of the viewer gently.

I think the example in #61 in this thread works well for me. I think #58 is too much, I am distracted by the dark corners in that one.

 

[Bill Clark]

I accomplish this task with my trusty Apple iMac and Photoshop.

 

[Sid836]

I like the slight lens characteristic vignetting, I don't like adding any with post production processes. I loved the slight vignetting of my little Oly XA2. It has been really hard for me to give it away. I just could not stand its light meter that could easily ruin moments.

 

[charjohncarter]

I like the slight lens characteristic vignetting, I don't like adding any with post production processes. I loved the slight vignetting of my little Oly XA2. It has been really hard for me to give it away. I just could not stand its light meter that could easily ruin moments.

I have an Olympus Stylus Infinity that also give slight vignetting, maybe the same lens. I'm like you I just like it.

Untitled by carter3john, on Flickr

 

[thegman]

I think sometimes a vignette can be really striking. My brother's LCA-120 vignettes strongly, and I must say, I like it.

 

[Harry Caul]

One of my favorite shots... my infant daughters first look at an airplane! Shot with an M3 and 50/1.4 lux v1 with factory hood, wide open.

 

[dave lackey]

Jeez, vignetting comes natural for me. Every morning I awake I have the coolest vignette view of the world as it takes me awhile to really get going these days.🙂

What's not to like about vignetting now and then?

 

[tunalegs]

table and chairs by berangberang, on Flickr

4.5/40 Tessar produces a soft vignetting that I find very pleasant (somtimes). It seems to give a suggestion of illumination that can make a flat background more three dimensional.

tower by berangberang, on Flickr

Extreme vignetting from a toy camera. Kind of cool (sometimes).

 

[02Pilot]

Vignetting can be quite effective, though as with others, my preference is when a lens produces it naturally rather than adding it later on. A few shots (all from my Olympus XA4 Macro) where I was pleased with the effect (none of the vignetting was altered).

 

[goamules]

I can deal with it. A lot of the time.

 

[narsuitus]

The five options in this poll do not capture my opinion of vignetting.

To me, vignetting is a merely a word. It is not necessarily a dirty word.

I tend to view vignetting as a character flaw or a minor optical flaw that usually has little effect on the overall performance of the lens.

However, just as a rose is a weed in a dandelion garden, there are times when I find vignetting undesirable. Vignetting in my macro shots in one such time.

The top image, shot with a high-quality lens but not a macro lens, displays vignetting and barreling optical defects. The bottom image, shot with a high-quality macro lens, does not display those "character flaws."


https://flic.kr/p/s4hLUs

 

[thirtyfivefifty]

On cheap lenses, it can be very distracting, but on well made lenses, it has enough. When I crop a photo, I have to add vignetting because the image looks cropped rather than being a full picture with the lens having the right coverage for the camera it was intended to be used on.

 

[Spanik]

Don't really like it and by far prefer it not to be there. Sometimes it isn't that bad or the photo itself masks it. But certainly with architecture I can find it very distracting and not pleasing at all.

 

[pechelman]

Vignetting, just like discussions regarding sharpness, is generally overemphasized. I've always felt these quantitative things are so prominently discussed, simply because they are quantitative. It's very easy to see and measure the value a lens vignettes and graph it as a function of f-stop, but try to do that with a more qualitative characteristic like rendering or what mood the lens might add to your shots and the discussion breaks down quickly.

Certainly, to have a lens that vignettes heavily, so as to look like a circular fisheye, isnt generally desired, but to have a lens that vingettes a stop or two in the corners, like one would expect from a fast prime or fast wide angle, isnt a big deal, nor even "a deal", imo. Of course there are always limits and exceptions to generalities.

For the majority of my shots, some vignette is added in post, either done locally with a brush or globally with the vignette tool.

Had it been an option in the poll, I'd have voted something like;
"I usually dont mind vignetting / I usually add some vignetting in post"


having said all of this, it is my opinion that vignetting, just like any other effect or style applied to an image should be used with some restraint and shouldnt immediately be obvious unless that is the intention. Rather, it should work harmoniously (or at least attempt to) with the image when taken as a whole and singular object.